HILTON
Hiltune, Hiltona (xi cent.); Hylton (xvi cent.).
This parish is at its greatest extent about 2 miles
from east to west and covers 1,391 acres, of which
711 acres are arable land, 70 acres are woods and
moorlands, and 528 are laid down to permanent
grass. (fn. 1) The soil is a strong gravelly clay with a subsoil of Keuper marls. The River Leven forms part
of the western boundary of the parish, separating it
from Castle Leavington. The banks of the river are
well wooded, Scriddles Wood lying to the south-west
of the village, while further west is Hilton Wood
with the Mill Farm. Here the river takes a northward bend, the woods alongside being called Stockdale
and Crow Woods. Further north are the Leven
Bridge plantations, between which and the river are
low-lying grounds liable to floods. The hamlet of
Leven Bridge is partly in this parish and takes its
name from a bridge over the river, mention of which
occurs in 1665 (fn. 2) and 1738. (fn. 3)
The village consists of a few cottages and farmhouses scattered along the road leading from Yarm to
Stokesley, and is situated on rising ground with a
prospect to the north, the highest point being 192 ft.
above the ordnance datum. The church of St. Peter
lies in the middle of the village on the south side of
the road, and close by is an elementary school, built
in 1878. A little to the north-west of the village
stands Hilton Manor, the residence of Mr. Edward
B. Whitley, who succeeded his father, the late Mr.
Jonas Whitley, in 1912. It is a large brick house
erected about 1892, and is surrounded by plantations and approached by a long avenue. At the
other extremity of the village Roger Lane leads past
Greenfield Farm from the Stokesley road. The
nearest railway station is at Yarm, 4 miles to the
north-west.
Manors
In 1086 there were 6 carucates of
land in HILTON soke of the 'manor'
of the Count of Mortain in Seamer. (fn. 4)
They afterwards formed part of the fee of the Archbishops of Canterbury, (fn. 5) of whom they were held by
the Meynells of Whorlton (fn. 6) (q.v.).
The tenancy in demesne was perhaps held by the
Richard de Hilton who is mentioned in 1166 and
1167. (fn. 7) Roger de Hilton had a grant of 2 oxgangs in
'Hoton' from Walter de Hamby in 1202 and confirmed 2 oxgangs in Hilton to Roger son of Walter
in 1208. (fn. 8) Adam de Hilton was collector of the
fortieth in the North Riding in 1232, (fn. 9) and was one
of the justices in eyre in 1251–2. (fn. 10) Agnes his sister
and heir is said to have married Hugh de Meynell, (fn. 11)
and the Robert de Meynell who appears to have
succeeded (fn. 12) may have been her son. Robert was
succeeded before 1283 (fn. 13) by his son Hugh, (fn. 14) who
in 1299 held 6 carucates in Hilton of Nicholas de
Meynell of Whorlton. (fn. 15) He was succeeded by
John, (fn. 16) who in 1303 made a settlement of the manor
on himself and his wife Sybil. (fn. 17) In 1316 John was
dead and his heir was in the wardship of Nicholas de
Meynell, the mesne lord, who granted the custody to
Thomas Sawcock and Adam de Skelton. (fn. 18) This heir
was John's son Nicholas, who married Cecily daughter
of Thomas Sawcock, (fn. 19) and is presumably the Nicholas
de Hilton of whom lands were held in 1361. (fn. 20) He
was succeeded by his eldest son John Meynell, who died
without issue before 1417 and was succeeded by his
brother Robert. (fn. 21) Robert was still living in 1444, but
must have died soon afterwards, as his son Thomas,
who succeeded him, died in 1447. (fn. 22) Thomas's heir
was his son John, who was still living in 1479; he was
succeeded by his son Robert, (fn. 23) who in 1511 made a
settlement of the manor on himself and his heirs
male, with contingent remainder in fee-tail to his
brothers William and Anthony and their heirs. (fn. 24)
Robert was succeeded by his son, another Robert, (fn. 25)
who bought Hawnby and died
seised of both manors in 1563. (fn. 26)
Henceforward this manor followed the descent of Hawnby
(q.v.) until the death of Lord
John Cavendish in 1796. (fn. 27)
Lord John's brother, Lord
Frederick Cavendish, died in
1803, leaving the greater part
of his property to his nephew
George Cavendish, afterwards
Earl of Burlington, (fn. 28) who presented to the church in 1839. (fn. 29)
In or about 1857 the manor
was sold to John Hay of Sunderland. (fn. 30) George Hay was lord in 1872. Col.
George Jackson Hay was lord in 1889 and 1890,
within three years after which date it was sold to
Jonas Whitley, father of the present lord of the
manor.
Hilton of Hilton. Sable three rings argent and a chief argent fretty sable.
A 'manor' of 3 carucates was among the king's
lands in 1086 and was held of him by Aluer. (fn. 31) It
became part of the Brus fee, (fn. 32) the overlordship following the descent of the manor of Skelton (q.v.). By
1272 the whole of the Brus fee in Hilton was
held by Robert de Potto, (fn. 33) whose ancestors had
held tenements here as early as 1219. (fn. 34) Robert's
name occurs again in 1301–2 (fn. 35) and in 1303. (fn. 36) In
1318 he sold his lands here to Adam de Skelton, (fn. 37)
who in 1325 had licence to alienate them to Drax
Priory. (fn. 38) In 1347 Drax Priory held the fourth part
of a fee in Hilton which Robert de Potto had held, (fn. 39)
and was still in possession in 1427–8. (fn. 40) At the
Dissolution the priory was not said to hold anything
in Hilton, (fn. 41) and it seems probable that its possessions here were never more than a mesne lordship.
The following tenants were probably subenfeoffed
under Drax. Sir Thomas Percy, kt., in 1383 conveyed half the manor of Hilton to William Lambert, (fn. 42)
whose descendant Robert Lambert held land here in
1523. (fn. 43) Robert Lambert in 1540 conveyed half the
manor to Sir James Strangways, kt. (fn. 44) Sir James died
in 1541, (fn. 45) and his widow is afterwards mentioned as
holding a rent in Hilton, (fn. 46) after which no further
mention is made of this estate.
A water-mill in Hilton is first mentioned in 1618, (fn. 47)
when it was appurtenant to the manor. View of
frankpledge occurs in 1635. (fn. 48) A mill was appurtenant
to the Brus fee in Hilton in 1318. (fn. 49)
In 1365 lands in Hilton were held of the Prior of
St. John of Jerusalem, (fn. 50) but no further reference to the
Knights Hospitallers in this parish has been found.
Church
The church of ST. PETER is an
interesting 12th-century structure, consisting of chancel and nave under one
continuous modern eaved roof covered with red
pantiles, and with a bellcote containing two bells
at the west end. The chancel measures internally
13 ft. 10 in. by 16 ft. and the nave 32 ft. by
19 ft. 6 in., the chancel arch being 9 ft. 10 in. in
width. Probably about the end of the 18th century
the church was restored, and none of its original 12thcentury windows remain, the only ancient window
being a 13th-century lancet on the north side of the
chancel. Three large square-headed windows, one
on the south side of the chancel and the others on
either side of the nave, are 18th-century insertions,
probably in the position of older openings. There
are north and south doorways at the western end of
the nave, but the east and west walls are blank. The
bellcote has been rebuilt.
Plan of Hilton Church
The chancel offers several points of interest. The
present blank east wall is not bonded into the adjoining walls, and may be later than the rest of the building. The evidence of the masonry outside, however,
does not suggest a very much later period, and what
the intentions of the first builders were is by no means
clear. The lower parts of the north and south walls
at the east end, for a distance of about 3 ft. 6 in.,
project 8 in. in front of the face of the wall proper
to a height of 5 ft. 4 in. above the floor of the altar
space, which is 5 in. above the general floor level of
the nave and chancel. These projections are finished
off at the top by a chamfered cornice or impost mould,
which, however, along with the upper part of the
projection, stops at a distance of 11 in. from the east
wall, and the whole terminates westward in dwarf
shafts with cushion capitals. It is possible that by this
arrangement it was intended to carry a platform for
the altar and so give room for a half-subterranean relic
chamber below, but of such a chamber there is no
trace. The chancel, too, may have been planned to
extend further east, but whether with an apsidal or
an ordinary rectangular end it is impossible to say. (fn. 51)
The chancel may have been remodelled in the 13th
century when the north window was inserted, the
original arrangement being then lost. The east wall
may date from this period, the old stones being used
in its reconstruction. There is a set back in the east
wall inside at a height of 11 ft. above the sanctuary
floor.
The chancel arch is of two orders towards the
nave, but square on the east side, and is very much
depressed. The outer order is square and without
ornament, but the inner has a half-round moulding
on the soffit, and the angle has a hollow chamfer
with pellet ornament. The inner order springs at
a height of 6 ft. 10 in. from half-round responds
with carved capitals, and the outer from angle shafts
with scalloped cushion capitals differing in detail,
that on the south side having small volutes at the
angles. The impost moulding is carried along the
face of the wall north and south on the nave side,
and has three triangular grooves immediately above
the chamfer. The wall above the arch has been
rebuilt.
The north and south doorways differ in size and
detail. The opening on the south side is 3 ft. 6 in.
wide, that on the north 2 ft. 9 in., but both doorways have semicircular arches of two orders, the
outer carried on angle shafts and the inner with
plain square jambs below the imposts. There are
no hood moulds. The south doorway is an interesting specimen of a rough attempt at rich ornament.
A series of cheverons is cut on the edge of the voussoirs
(of both orders) and an upper row incised in the
outward face. (fn. 52) The angle shafts have gone, but the
scalloped cushion capitals and moulded bases remain.
The imposts are chamfered on both edges. The
shafts of the north doorway are likewise gone, the
capitals and bases alone remaining, but the imposts are
chamfered only on the underside with a single groove
above. The outer order has the cheveron ornament,
but the inner has a continuous moulding with pellets
in the hollow.
On the wall above the south doorway, a little to
the east, is an ancient sundial, and close to it a
sculptured stone with what appears to be the representation of an animal. There is a low chamfered
plinth all round the building and three set-offs
along the lower part of the west wall. The north
and south walls bulge badly.
The font consists of an 18th-century scalloped
circular bowl on a stone pedestal and has a wooden
cover. The other fittings are all modern. A stone
reredos in the Norman style was erected in 1886 in
memory of Douglas Erroll Hay (1879–86).
The plate consists of a cup of 1750, made by
Isaac Cookson of Newcastle, and a paten of 1885.
There are also a modern plated flagon and plate and
a pewter flagon. (fn. 53)
The registers begin in 1698. The first marriage
entries are in 1754. (fn. 54)
Advowson
Hilton was formerly a chapel of
ease to Rudby, (fn. 55) but was augmented
in 1746, 1767, 1786 and 1809, (fn. 56)
and by 1842 was considered a separate parish in all
respects except that it still contributed to the repairs
of the mother church. (fn. 57) The advowson follows the
descent of the advowson of Rudby (q.v.), but from
1839 it has been held by the lords of the manor. (fn. 58)
The tithes belonged to the mother church, (fn. 59) but
came to the hands of the lords of the manor in the
first half of the 17th century, since when they have
followed the descent of the manor. (fn. 60)
There do not appear to be any endowed charities
in this parish.